Just wasting time... ?

Exciting weekend, we had. Geocaching, leather jackets, burger drive-ins, wooded adventures, and Parenthood marathons. We also watched the movie In Time [yes, mainly because JT is the lead actor] and it spurred a good convo.

The plot of the movie in and of itself is interesting-- it's like a Robin Hood meets weird, futuristic society. Time is the currency of the world, and people are separated into time zones, either limiting the time they are given or allowing for excess. Basically, it's a mirror of the injustice of our reality: the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The larger theme was immortality-- that men crave it but none of us were meant to live forever. I recommend you watch it! There was, of course, unnecessary violence because JT needed to be really hardcore, but I could handle it so I'm sure you can, too.

It got me thinking...

why do we as humans feel like we waste time? Or that there is some ultimate goal we must fight to achieve? This is a constant battle of my mindset: that every moment is significant, no matter what. I try so hard but have yet to truly believe that. I understand that there are things I can do to better myself, the people around me, my world, and I want to be responsible with what I've been given: energy, resources, mercy. Time. I, however, just as much need to be content and enjoy my life as it is.

So how do we balance this? Life is short; we are but a breath. How do we resolve to make a difference and simultaneously rest in mundane significance?

One of the many questions.

For my sermon sharing Monday:

Greg Boyd finished his series on Hearing God's Voice. He recapped the last 3 weeks and mainly enforced the fact that if we are too involved in our own schedules, agendas, etc., then we won't have the ears to hear His quiet, still voice or feel His soft nudges on our hearts. And that if we are constantly over-thinking those times we think He might be communicating with us (whether it's really our voices or His) then we'll miss the moment. All we should ask is if what we feel we should do will help someone else, and then just do it. The worst thing that could happen is you do something nice for someone else. :)

Refreshing.

Small group time was spent discussing our unique gifts/ passions/ strengths and formulating ideas on how to implement those more in our daily lives. I really enjoyed reflecting on the past seasons of my life-- each of my strengths has been highlighted and used in different ways, totally not purposeful on my part (since I didn't really know what my strengths were!) Cool thing. Gives me renewed peace that He is weaving my life into something beautiful, especially when I'm completely unaware.

So we were challenged to make space for specific uses of our gifts, and to keep each other encouraged and accountable to what we want to do. They are all such wonderful women. I am in awe of the greatness in our community. I do love friends, don't you?!